LIBERTY, Mo. — There’s promising news for concerned parents.
The Food and Drug Administration reached an agreement with Abbott, the manufacturer behind Similac, to restart production at certain plants to ease the worldwide formula shortage, which has parents scrambling for nourishment for their newborns.
In Liberty, owners at the Mama and Me Children’s Boutique hope to help. They’re offering a discount to customers who deliver donated servings of baby formula, which the store, in turn, will give to mothers in need.
The store is also using its social media pages to help families find stores where formula is in stock.
“We’ve probably received 20-to-30 donations per day and just as many moms coming in and taking what they need,” Nicole Fox, who owns the store, said. “Parenting is stressful enough, but then, to have to worry about how you’re going to feed your baby the next meal, it’s absolutely heartbreaking.”
The United Way of Greater Kansas City wants to help worried moms and dads. That nonprofit recommends parents call ahead to food pantries to check their formula stock — which will save time and gasoline. Also, UWGKC recommends parents to ask their pediatrician for help finding formula. Kristen Womack, who works the United Way’s 211 call center, says rural grocery stores seem to have baby formula in stock, whereas city stores are struggling to keep it around.
“Work with the network you have, and if you don’t have a network, reach out out to folks like 211 or Harvesters and let’s work together to address this,” Womack said.